ONEX ASKS COURT TO FORCE AIR CANADA MEETING
Marking an escalation in the battle for Air Canada, Canadian investment
firm Onex Corp. has asked an Ontario judge to order Air Canada’s management board to hold
a shareholders meeting on Nov. 8.
The move comes after Air Canada approved on Monday a plan to stall Onex’s
unsolicited bid for the airline until a meeting on Jan. 7.
The "poison-pill’ plan denies Air Canada shareholders the
"opportunity to address our offer in the time frame set out by the Government of
Canada," an Onex spokesman said.
The Canadian government granted Canadian Airlines and Air Canada a 90-day
reprieve from antitrust laws in August to explore ways to save
Canadian Airlines, which has suffered a string of financial losses.
Air Canada’s board said its shareholder rights plan will give the
company time to consider all proposals, including the Onex bid. Air Canada has said it
sees little benefit to shareholders in Onex’s
below-market-value offer, which is supported by American Airlines’ parent company AMR
Corp.
Separately, AMR Corp. said it is not seeking control of Air Canada and that
it plans to eventually sell its stake in Canada’s new merged airline. AMR owns a majority
stake in Canadian Airlines.